It was 1943. World War Two was two years in, and her beau wanted to go to war. He was 18 and ready to fight, to defend his country and their freedom. But first, he wanted to marry Addie. He gave her as much hope as she gave him. They owed it to each other to marry and keep that hope alive.
To be able to marry, she was obligated to finish school. [Whether it was the conclusion she and Mr. Hedge came to, or if it was a promise she made herself or her parents, I am not sure.] Somehow, she got her teachers to sign off that she could be done early. Not only did she have to finish school, she also had to have her parents' permission to marry because she was still only 17. She told her dad she needed his signature on a document sent home from school. That document was the consent form for her to marry before the age of eighteen.Yes, sweet Missus Hedge told a fib. ...to get married WHEN SHE WAS SEVENTEEN. I really wish her parents were around so I could hear them recount the story. Chances are, they knew she was up to something!
That summer, she turned 18, they spent it working and falling in love, and he then left for war. She didn't know if he'd ever come back. All she knew was that she had the best summer of her life and her wee fib was worth it.
He was in the Air Force. He flew a B-24 bomber all over Europe, but was stationed mostly in Italy. He was responsible for taking out gas tanks so the Axis troops couldn't travel. He wrote her love letters. Everyday. She still has them and reads them to remember how much they loved each other, how passionate and true he was, they were. She is that American girl -- young, beautiful, madly in love with a true American hero. He did his job well and came home relatively unscathed. Yes, he came home.
The rest of their story is just as beautiful. She admits that things weren't perfect, there were some really hard things they had to endure. But they loved each other, they never forgot that.
They built a self-sustaining farm together. She is 87 now, and she still kicking, playing hymns at church, mending the fence that a bear got to last year. You can hear the annoyance in her voice, that her hands don't work quite as well as they used to. And you can hear in her voice how much she misses her husband. If ever there is a love story I'd want to learn from, it is that of the Hedge's -- feisty, full of life, and forever.
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